Ugarkar's speed has increased in MLC 2025. ©MLC
'Look at the field, where would you bowl to Virat?' asked Rohit Sharma, pointing at the TV during an RCB vs GT game, moments after wrapping up a practice session in Lucknow. The question was directed at a shy and introverted Rushil Ugarkar, the 22-year-old MINY pacer who had been called up as a support bowler for MI. 'I'd probably want him to drive and get him caught at slips,' replied Ugarkar. To which, Sharma responded 'They are targeting him to get him caught at long leg'.
Two balls later, Arshad Khan had Kohli caught exactly there.
What followed was a 15-minute masterclass in cricketing intellect. Sharma broke down Phil Salt's game in detail, offering Ugarkar a ringside view into how elite batters are decoded at the top level. For Ugarkar, it was his moment of cricketing enlightenment, delivered by one of the most astute brains in the world game.
At this year's MLC, Ugarkar has made a conscious effort to take those sermons to heart. Sharma had impressed upon him that success at the highest level hinges on right planning and execution tailored to match situations and the nature of each batter. Ugarkar warmed up to the MLC by making an early statement in a warm-up game against Washington Freedom, delivering a superb five-run penultimate over. What stood out wasn't just the outcome but the method. He audaciously set a 6-3 field, a move that reflected both conviction in his plan and belief in his ability to execute it. It caught even some of his senior teammates by surprise.
Like every young fast bowler, Ugarkar possesses that insatiable urge to bowl quicker by each passing day. In the six weeks leading up to the tournament, he put on nearly 6 kilograms of muscle by religiously following the strict regimen he was prescribed to by the MI physio. That physical transformation paid immediate dividends. His average speed rose from 127 kmph to 134 kmph at this year's MLC, a significant leap in his potency as a quick. Albeit just once, the highlight of that surge came when he breached the 140 kmph barrier.
Ugarkar's zeal to bowl quick between the 22 yards doesn't come at the expense of his growing maturity as a bowler. In MINY's high-octane clash against LA Knight Riders, he put his ego aside and embraced the unfashionable, unglamorous grind of bowling slower cutters on a sluggish surface. His spell of 4 overs for 26 runs was pivotal to squeeze the life out of the Knight Riders' chase that cruised at one point of time.
After being struck for a boundary off his very first ball, a 134 kmph delivery to Alex Hales, Ugarkar was nimble enough to alter his game plan. He pulled his pace back by nearly 20 kmph for the next 20 balls of his spell. He remained dogged to keep bowling his nagging off-cutters accompanied with clever length variation even against the likes of the belligerent Sherfane Rutherford, who found himself bottled up. Ugarkar kept a tight leash on the West Indian left-hander who entered the game fresh off his terrifying knock of 86 off 44 deliveries. Ugarkar just conceded 11 runs off the 14 deliveries he bowled to him.
He also came out unscathed in his spell of 4 overs (1-29) against the tormenting Shimron Hetmyer (97*) which saw him single-handedly ace the chase of 238. While there has been an odd over where he has been carted around, Ugarkar's rise as a fast bowler should give a lot of muscle to USA's almost bare empty fast bowling stocks who consistently break the 135 kmph barrier.
© Cricbuzz
